GT4 Car: Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII

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We look at Mitsubishi's rally car for the street.

By Justin Kaehler

Mitsubishi's rally-inspired supercar finally reached American shores in the form of the Lancer Evolution 8. The release of the Lancer Evo 8 is special to us, especially because of the reason Mitsubishi finally relented and released the car in the U.S.

It seems that a certain racing game created a huge demand for this all-wheel drive super sedan. People saw just how cool the Evo was and wanted one for themselves. This racing game just seemed to fly in under the radar. Perhaps you heard of it: it was called Gran Turismo.

It took a long time, but the wait was worth it. Even though the Evo only has a 2 liter engine, it puts out some pretty impressive numbers. The turbocharged and intercooled inline-four (4G63) puts out 280 ps (about 276 hp) to the flywheel.

Thanks to its all-wheel drive system, with center and rear limited slip differential, the Evo claws any surface with a tenacious grip. This car is at home both on the tarmac and in the dirt. The Evo 8 can pull almost 1 lateral G on the skidpad and run a mid-6-second zero-to-sixty on gravel. Believe it or not, these impressive figures come from a bone-stock car.

Even more impressive is the list of race-ready components that come standard on the car. A vented aluminum hood and widened aluminum fenders are included. Those fenders sit over ultra-light weight forged Enkei rims with Brembo brakes peeking out from behind. Moving to the back, there is a huge carbon fiber wing that is actually wind-tunnel tested and really works.

Evo 8 gettin' dirty.

The interior doesn't have much going for it. There are just a couple of Recaro racing buckets and a MOMO steering wheel. But, this is a racecar; any extras would just add weight and slow us down.

All we can say is: thank you Mitsubishi and thank you Gran Turismo. These two almighty forces of automotive goodness were able to join together and bring us driving nirvana.